By Jessica Tuggle
For Hometown News
SEBASTIAN - Residents got a taste of Australian music and culture on July 18 when the North Indian River County Library hosted "Didgeridoo Down Under."
It was an interactive presentation designed to raise awareness about Australia, although the presenter, Lindsey Dank of Gainesville, has never been to that country.
Though he has never been to Australia, Mr. Dank has trained with indigenous Australians who have come to the United States.
During the event, Mr. Dank picked up a brightly painted eucalyptus wood tube, took a deep breath and began to blow into the instrument.
Immediately, the children's eyes widened at the foreign noises reverberating around the room, and all chatter was hushed.
Arran Thacker, 12, described the sound as "kind of low like a base drum, except he could hold the drum sound much longer."
By vibrating his lips and blowing through the didgeridoo, Mr. Dank produces sounds similar to crickets and monkeys and elephants.
Mr. Dank began playing the didgeridoo in earnest seven years ago at the Joshua Tree International Didgeridoo Festival in California.
About 200 children, parents, grandparent and teachers attended the Australian-themed presentation, which is part of a series of special events to teach children about other countries and cultures around the world.
The didgeridoo, which some claim to be the oldest wind instrument in the world, was the primary instrument played by Mr. Dank. He also performed with various other instruments; tying bells around his ankle, balancing an African djimbay between his legs and using an egg shaker or clap sticks with his fingers.
Logan Lott, 6, and his mother, Diane, enjoyed the demonstration very much.
"We've come to the library for these types of events for the past two years," Ms. Lott said. "They have excellent programs for the kids here," she said with a smile.
Her son, Logan, loved the music and said he wanted to make his own didgeridoo out of cardboard tubing.
Mr. Dank and other members of Didgeridoo Down Under travel the southern states in an effort to encourage people, especially children, to learn about Australian history and culture.
"They have a really special story that lots of people over here don't really know about," Mr. Dank said.
Mr. Dank said he believes teaching children about other cultures will help improve the world.
"[The children] are the ones that will be able to stand up and make a difference in our world," he said.
In addition to learning about Australian music, children learned about various Australian animals including wombats, Tasmanian devils, koalas and pythons.
Austin Long, 11, said, "I never knew that koala bears had pouches."
Arran summed the performance and said: "I enjoy music a lot and those instruments were really cool. I think a lot of people would like the didgeridoo; the show was awesome."
To find out more about the library's summer programs, visit www.sebastianlibrary.com.
To organize a presentation of Didgeridoo Down Under at a school, please visit http://www.didgrevolution.com.